HOLLY THE BLACK NOSED REINDEER

When I was a pup I worked for Santa. I filled in for Rudolph when he wasn't feeling well.

A SPECTACULAR AUTUMN

Although the fall colors were late arriving the view from our front porch has been spectacular. We appreciate it every morning when we look out our window. The leaves are now falling and the mountains are turning brown. Now the forest floor is a bright yellow and the squirrels are kicking up trails of leafy gold as they run through the woods. I wish Lawrence would let me chase some squirrels and then I'd be kicking up some leaves.

BROOD

I am a lucky dog. I live in a nice house with Lawrence my owner who loves me very much. Some of my cousins are not so lucky. Several of them are up for adoption at Basset Rescue Of Old Dominion in Charlottesville, Virginia. You can see them at http://www.brood-va.org/. They are all loveable dogs and your life would be enriched by adopting one of them. Bassets love humans.

EARLY BIRTHDAY

Tomorrow is my seventh birthday but we are celebrating today because Lawrence will be away for most of the day. Lawrence bought me a bag of Beggin Strips and has been giving me one each hour. Boy are they yummy. I usually don't get any junk food. Each day I get one measuring cup of dry Purina One kibbles in the morning and the evening and one Milk Bone biscuit. This is how I keep my girlish figure. After all of these goodies today I will have to spend extra time on my Pilates tomorrow.

OLYMPIC SPIRIT

We are really pumped up about the olympics. The athletes are really inspiring. If they had an event called "Begging For Treats" I would be a champion.

BEAR IN THE FIELD

Yesterday when we drove in from our evening drive there was a bear sitting in our field. He seemed to be just smelling the wildflowers. There were also some deer in the field at the same time. We have seen more bears this year here at Doubleview than ever before. They have been down in our peach orchard tearing up the trees. Instead of just eating the fruit off of the limbs they break the limbs off of the trees and lie down on the ground and eat the fruit. Bears do thousands of dollars of damage to the orchards in our area each year. We really enjoy seeing the bears but they have really increased in numbers and are destructive pests.

TO THE BEACH !!!!!!! NOT...............

I want to go to the beach !!!! But Lawrence says no - we are going to stay home and do things in our area. People travel from all over the United States to visit our area. Local attractions include the Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, Graves Mountain Lodge, Montpelier, and Monticello. Washington, D.C. is only an hour and forty minutes away. He says we are going to do things closer to home this summer. People are calling this having a Staycation. I call it having a Fakecation !!!!!!!!

THE TWINS WERE HERE

Yesterday twin fawns were in the backyard with their mother eating some of our plums. They have been grazing in our wildflower meadow for the past three weeks and this was the first time we could get a good picture of them. They are really beautiful and we don't mind their eating some of our plums.

BACKYARD BEAR

This afternoon we had a bear in the backyard eating plums. This one looked like he weighed about 175 pounds. This is the third time in the last 6 days that we have seen bears in the backyard. On Friday there were 2 here at the same time. We told this one to "get outa here" and he ran back up the mountain. The plums sure have been popular.

MORE GOOD NEWS

The results of Paint The Parks, which is one of the most prestigious juried art exhibitions in America, have been announced. There were 200 paintings selected nationally and 3 of them are paintings by Lawrence !!!!! Needless to say, we are very happy about this. They are pictured below. More of Lawrence's work can be seen at altafferart.com.

Taggart Lake oil 24 x 36 $4,900

Pyramids Of The Badlands oil 16 x 20 $1,600

Path Ay Jenny Lake oil 18 x 24 $2,200

BAD DEER

This afternoon when we looked out of our kitchen window there was a deer standing on its hind legs eating the plums off of our plum tree. We love our deer but we don't like them eating our plums. Lawrence opened the back door and I barked at the deer and it ran away. I'm going to have to keep a close guard on our plum tree. Deer beware.

STATE DEPARTMENT EXHIBITION

Recently Lawrence was asked by the State Department to lend some of his paintings for an exhibition in the American embassy in Honduras. This is part of the Art In Embassies program. He is lending two of his earliest works from his personal collection. They are pictured below. So head on down to Honduras and take a look.

The Landslide oil 11 x 14
In The Harbor oil 20 x 16

MY FAVORITE COMICS

Each morning Lawrence and I look at the comics on the internet. My most favorite comic strip is Overboard. It's about pirates on a ship with two dogs, Louie and Raymond, and mice and rabbits and sea monsters and a mermaid. It's really funny and Louie and Raymond are two cool dudes.Of course I also love Snoopy who is in the Peanuts strip. He is a beagle and we are distant cousins. Snoopy speaks for all dogs and we all look up to him. Maybe some day there will be a comic strip about me.

ANOTHER NEW PAINTING

Lawrence has been busy in his studio and just finished this interesting painting of a marsh with large patches of violet wildflowers.

NEW PAINTING

Lawrence just finished a nice little painting of crab skiffs in Fleeton, Virginia. He loves all of the boats of the Chesapeake Bay. Fewer and fewer of these wooden boats are being seen these days.

BEAR SIGHTING

This evening we took a drive up Weakley Hollow Road and saw a bear eating grass in a field. I stuck my nose out of the window and growled at him but he ignored me. I don't get no respect !

BASSETS RULE

'Nuff said.

GREAT TREATS

Do you remember that I like treats? Actually I really LOVE them. My favorites are treats made from the recipes in The Doggy Bone Cookbook. They are yummy !!!!!!! This book includes veterinarian approved recipes for healthy dog biscuits that you can make yourself. It also includes a bone shaped cookie cutter. My favorites are the Bark-B-Q and Peamutt Butter cookies. You can find these books at major booksellers and many pet shops and gift shops or you can order them from www.comeandget.info. Check it out and let me know how you like these yummy treats.

LAWRENCE'S NEW PAINTING

Lawrence just finished a new painting called "Thistles And Wildflowers". The location is at the base of Old Rag Mountain. We frequently take an evening ride in that area. To see more of his work take a look at his web site "altafferart.com". I love going out on painting trips with Lawrence.

MY FANS

Each day Lawrence and I go to the Syria Mercantile Store so he can pick up his mail. I wait in the car and frequently several of my fans come out to the car to say hello. My number one fan is Col. Irvin Katenbrink and I have named him president of my fan club. He likes to smell my head and I like to lick him. I love to lick all of my fans. It's important to remember the little people when you are a star.

CABOOSE WAS HERE

This weekend two of Lawrence's fraternity brothers, Fred Carspecken and Rusty Adams, stayed with us while they attended their fortieth reunion at the University of Virginia. Fred brought his dog Caboose with him. He is a chocolate lab and he licked my face a lot and that really excited me. He is a dreamy hunk and I am in love !!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEW PAINTING OF SCHOONOVER STUDIO

Lawrence just finished a painting of the Schoonover Studio in Wilmington, Delaware. It is owned and managed by John Schoonover who is one of Lawrence's fraternity brothers and he is the grandson of Frank Schoonover. Frank Schoonover (pictured below) was a student of Howard Pyle along with N.C.Wyeth, and he was one of the most renowned American illustrators in the twentieth century. He was also a very good landscape artist although he is not as well known for his landscapes. If you are not familiar with Frank Schoonover you can see several of his paintings on Google images.

HOME ALONE

Lawrence left me home alone today. I spent the afternoon in the backyard tied to the porch. Boy was it a long lonely day !! He went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington and had lunch with his friend Ross Merrill and saw the art exhibition In The Forest At Fontainbleau. He was really excited to see the above painting ,On The Road To Chailly ,which is one of Monet's most famous early paintings. The forest of Fontainbleau is south of Paris and is where the French artists began to do a lot of outdoor painting on site in the mid nineteenth century. Lawrence's favorite painting in the exhibit was a small painting by Monet titled Haystacks At Chailly At Sunrise which is pictured below.

It really captures the color of the early morning sky. I love it too. Now I'd like to go sniff out some trails in the forest at Fontainbleau.

OUR NEW GRADUATE

Lawrence has been gone for five days - five lonely days for me !!!!!! He went to Asheville, N.C. to attend the second college graduation of his daughter Anne Carrington Altaffer Asplin. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and received a degree in accounting. He says he had a really nice visit which culminated in a lavish Sunday buffet at the Grove Park Inn. The entire family was there and they are all very proud of Anne. So am I !!!!

ITALIAN SKY

Lawrence just put the finishing touches on a plein air painting he did three years ago near Treviso, Italy. I really like the sky. It conveys a lot of energy.

CINCO DE MAYO

Areeba, Areeba, Areeba !!!!!! It's Cinco De Mayo. I have on my mariachi hat that Lawrence bought for me when we spent the winter in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I would wear it to the town square and all of the Mexicans LOVED it. I made many friends there. We both like the Mexicans a lot. They are good people. I am trying to be very good today in hopes that Lawrence will give me a Corona. I'm keeping my paws crossed.

POOP EATER

Lawrence is upset with me because I periodically eat my own poops. Veterinarians call it coprophagia but he just calls me a poop eater. Veterinarians say it really isn't due to a nutritional deficiency, but that dogs are naturally scavengers and this is commonly done by many dogs. Some people theorize it might be due to boredom, but I just like them and consider them a nice treat. By the way, did I tell you that I like treats? It is particularly frustrating because when Lawrence knows I have done this he doesn't like me to kiss him on the lips. Maybe if he gave me more Milk Bone treats I wouldn't eat so many poops. He wants me to enter a twelve step program.

IT'S FINISHED

Lawrence has finished the new painting and he thanked me for all of my help. I particularly like the colors he incorporated in the sky - Naples Yellow and Cobalt Violet Light. He loves color and considers himself a colorist at heart. I really love the way the colors in the sky are reflected in the water. We have been thinking about my doing a painting with my tail. The tip of it looks just like a watercolor brush. I might be the next Bassetquiat.

NEW PAINTING

Lawrence is working on a new painting of the Rapidan River. He is about half finished. He is trying to capture the light of a bright sunny afternoon. He especially likes to paint sky and water. While he paints at his easel I lie beside him and rest my chin on his foot for moral support. He says I am a lot of help. I like to do my part. I think he has made a pretty good start.

RIDING SHOTGUN

Lawrence and I like to travel together and I ride shotgun and look at everything that passes by. I particularly like to stick my nose out of the window and smell everything that goes whizzing by. That's really how I identify things. Even though my eyesight isn't as good as humans my sense of smell is thousands times better. Lawrence went to the Virginia Museum of Art and looked at some nice paintings by the French and American impressionists. He thinks that many of the American painters are every bit as good as the French. Unfortunately the museum didn't allow dogs inside. Once again I feel discriminated against. We bassets like beautiful things too.

MIRACLE FOOD

Lawrence's friend Burly brought us a gallon of merkels, the morel mushrooms found here in the mountains, and last night we had a feast. I had my first merkel and I want MORE. Lawrence made a thin batter with pancake mix and sauteed them in canola oil and they were scrumptious. What a unique special flavor. We also had our first fresh asparagus of the season. They started popping up in our asparagus bed 2 days ago. I used to eat the asparagus when they popped up and Lawrence wasn't getting any so he had to build a fence around the asparagus patch to keep me out. Once I was able to squeeze under the fence and get into the patch and eat all of the new sprouts but I wasn't able to get back out. When Lawrence found me trapped inside of the fence I really had a guilty look on my face. I can't help it if I have human tastes !!!!

MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW

Every day I sit on the kitchen steps and look out of the front window and see one the most beautiful views on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. From our front porch we look across Quaker Run Valley to a gorgeous view of Doubletop Mountain. The first blushes of green are beginning at the base of the mountain and over the next two to three weeks will march all the way up to the top. Since Lawrence is an artist he is very tuned into color and says this color is cadmium green light. All I know is that it is beautiful !!!!!!!!

VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS

Our Virginia Bluebells are blooming along the stream bed next to the house. The blood root is also blooming along with some of the violets. We have about fifteen different species of wildflowers growing in the woods. The most special are the wild orchids known as Showy Orchis. I've been sniffing the flowers but they don't have much aroma. I like things that smell. We looked for wild morel mushrooms today but didn't find any. The mountain people call them merkels. This term is probably a combination of morel and miracle because it really is a miracle when they pop up out of the soil on the mountainside.

GOBBLER SEEKS HEN

Today when I looked out of the window I saw Mr. Big - Tom Turkey, that is. He is a big gobbler with a big beard and he is looking for those hens who were here yesterday. It's turkey mating season and he is on the prowl. I woofed at him a couple of times but he didn't reply . I guess I don't talk turkey.

TURKEYS IN THE YARD

I like to sit on the steps in the kitchen and look out of the front window and keep an eye on the front yard and wildflower meadow. Today there was a flock of wild turkeys in the front yard and several of them took turns sitting up on the split rail fence. They live on the mountain behind the house and come down here to feed. I growled at them but they ignored me. I just don't get any respect !!!!!

MY FEETS TOO BIG

This blogging is a lot of fun but very difficult because of my big paws. We bassets are known for our big feet. It makes it very difficult to type on this Apple laptop. I have talked with the Apple people but they say there just isn't enough demand to make a bigger keyboard for basset hounds. Once again I'm feeling basset discrimination. And texting on my Blackberry?
Fugedaboutit !!!!!!

THE PEACHES ARE COMING !!!!! - WE HOPE

Yippee !!!! Our peach orchard is in full bloom and each of those beautiful blossoms has the potential to become a delicious peach. We can expect beautiful peaches the second week in August. Last year we had only a handful of peaches. For the first time in more than twenty years a freeze killed the fruit buds. Boy did we miss those peaches.
That's our house, Doubleview, at the top of the hill above the orchard. It's called Doubleview because from the upstairs porch you have a great view of Doubletop Mountain and Old Rag Mountain. It was originally a garrison house built by British soldiers in the famous French and Indian War fort at Upper Tract, West Virginia. In 1989 Lawrence had it disassembled and carried to Madison County, Virginia and then rebuilt. The owners were planning to burn it down so a piece of history was saved and we ended up with a unique house. The way I have taken over the place you might say it is a grand dog house.

TRIP TO LA AND VEGAS

Lawrence just finished telling me all about his trip to LA and Las Vegas with L4. He said he had a great time. While in LA he got to see Malibu, Hollywood and Laguna Beach and he loved Santa Monica where L4 lives. They went to four art museums and saw some great paintings. He was particularly excited to see some nice paintings by the California Impressionists. The above painting "Incoming Tide" is by Guy Rose who many consider the greatest of the California impressionists. He spent time in the American art colony in Giverny painting alongside Monet. Lawrence also saw paintings by Payne, Redmond, Wendt, and Braun among others. All of these artists interpreted the California light in vibrant high key colors. Now that the spring colors are just beginning to show here in Virginia ,Lawrence is hoping to get out soon to do some painting. I like to go along with him and bark encouragement while he diligently applies paint to the canvas.

MY HUMAN IS BACK !!!!!!!!!!!

My human Lawrence has returned from LA. He got back last night and I immediately returned to my nightly habit of lying on his chest and taking a nap while he rubs my ears. I never get enough of that. I REALLY missed him. Today he is going to tell me all about the trip. If there is anything interesting I'll let you know. Gotta go ask for a treat.

MY HUMAN IS LEAVING ME

Tomorrow my human is leaving me and going to LA to visit his son, Lawrence Franklin Altaffer IV (shown above). We usually refer to him as L4. He is twenty six years old, single, and lives in Santa Monica. For the past two years he has been the webmaster for the DATA foundation which was co-founded by Bono. DATA promotes aid to Africa. He has also done work for Matt Damon's production company Live Planet. Currently he is working on several freelance projects. You can see his work at "catpointstudios.com". He does really nice work. My human and L4 are planning to go to the art museums in LA and Laguna Beach and they are taking a one night road trip to Las Vegas. I'd really like to go with them but they tell me there are no slot machines that pay out in doggy biscuits. We bassets are really discriminated against!!!!!!!!!

EXHAUSTED

Yaaaaaaaawn.........I loved having guests for the weekend but when guests are here I give them my full attention instead of sleeping on my chair for at least ninety percent of the day. Today I'm gonna catch up on my rest so you won't hear too much from me.

ROSS AND ALICE

Our best buddies Ross and Alice Merrill came to visit for the weekend. I was so excited all I could do was BARK BARK BARK and run around in circles and try to jump up on them and then my human Lawrence would get upset with me and remind me of my proper manners which means NO JUMPING ON PEOPLE !!!!! Being the scent hound that I am I sniffed and identified every bag and package they brought in. I must say I have gotten better. It used to take an hour for me to settle down when guests arrived and now I pretty much get it under control in fifteen minutes. I love having guests because they are "new meat" and I incessantly plead with them to pet me. I especially love all the new scents and aromas that guests bring and my nose stays in a highly charged state. This weekend I just couldn't contain myself and kept sniffing Alice's butt which she didn't like and I just didn't understand this. All of my doggy acquaintances never seem to mind my smelling their butts !!!!
Ross is the chief of the department of conservation at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and is an extraordinary landscape painter. Alice works at The Art League in Alexandria and is one of the most conscientious people on this earth. Lawrence and Ross planned to do some plein air painting on Saturday afternoon but the rain prevented that. Instead they sat in the living room sipping Bourbon and talking about art and looking at art books. Boy does that get boring for me but they actually get excited about. It's hard to figure out these humans.

HAPPY EASTER

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter. I was hoping for some Easter eggs but instead I got two Milk Bone biscuits. That was good. I am enjoying wearing my Easter bonnet today. It's a beautiful day and hopefully Lawrence will take me for a walk later in the afternoon. Then I can find lots of things to sniff.

HAPPY EASTER

I've Been Thinking

For a long time I have been thinking about creating a blog. I have many thoughts I want to share with you. A dog's life isn't that bad. I get to sleep most of the day and I have a human who loves me very much and I love him just as much. We live on the side of a mountain in an old log home that was built more than 200 years ago. I used to be able to run around in the woods and smell all of the wonderful aromas out there but now I have to be attached to a rope in the back yard because there are coyotes and mountain lions in the woods who would like to eat me because I am very sweet. I've got to go now because it is supper time and boy do I love my kibbles.